Presentation by: Allie NuttallTeacher: Mrs. Rose

Class: Art

Group Of Seven 7

MembersFranz Johnston Franklin Carmichael

A.Y. Jackson Lawren Harris

Frederick Varley J.E.H MacDonald

Arthur Lismer seve

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Franz JohnstonFrancis Hans Johnston, also known as Franz or

Frank was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1888 on the nineteenth of June. In 1911, he worked for Grip Limited, with other members such as J.E.H MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, & Franklin Carmichael. Later on he became a member of the Group of Seven. He spent most of his time before WW1 painting landscapes. Franz Johnston died in Toronto, Ontario, on the tenth of July in 1949.

"It took us out into the open air to look at Canadian landscape as distinct from European landscape. It necessarily meant that each was free to look at the landscape which attracted him...“ ~Franz

Johnston

The Fire Ranger Frank Johnston

c. 1919102cm x 82cm

A.Y JacksonA.Y Jackson developed his own style. He

was born in Montreal, Quebec, on the third of October in 1882. A.Y Jackson enlisted in the Canadian Army’s 60th battalion in 1914. He also participated in war, including WW1 in the years 1914-1918. After the war, he became a war artist. He began to draw and paint scenes from the war. A.Y Jackson was one of the seven members in the Group of Seven. A.Y Jackson died in Kleinberg, Ontario on the fifth of April in 1974.

“The obedient in art are always the forgotten . . . The country is glorious but its beauties are unknown, and but waiting for a real live

artist to splash them onto canvas . . . Chop your own path. Get off the car track.” ~ A.Y Jackson

Smart RiverA.Y Jackson

c. 1940 - 1945

Frederick Varley Frederick Varley was born in Sheffield,

England, on January second of 1881. He was a Canadian figure and landscape painter. Frederick was best known for his war paintings and portraits of women. Frederick Varley was a member of the Group of Seven. He died in Toronto, September , on the eighth of 1969.

Stormy WeatherFrederick Varley

c. 1920

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer was born in Sheffield,

England, on the twenty-seventh of June in 1885.He was fascinated by the Canadian landscape such as rocks, pines, water and sky. From 1920 he was a member of the Group of Seven. He worked at the commercial art firm Grip Limited, where he met fellow artists J.E.H. MacDonald, Franklin Carmichael, and Tom Thomson. Arthur Lismer died in Montreal, Quebec, on the twenty-third of March 1969.

“An understanding of psychology, a touch for the maternal, and a capacity for looking at the world through the eyes of a child –

these are the marks of good guides and teachers.” ~ Arthur Lismer

Evening Silhouette, Georgian BayArthur LismerOil on canvas

1928

J.E.H. MacDonald MacDonald was born in Durham, England, on the

twelfth of May in 1873. J.E.H stands for James Edward Hervey. He was a painter, also a founding member of the Group of Seven. He responded to the Canadian landscape with a sensitivity . MacDonald was very interested in the American writers Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. Just like the other artists, he was a member of the Group of Seven. MacDonald died in Toronto, Ontario, on the twenty-sixth of November 1932.

“It is the work of the Canadian artist to paint or play or write in such a way that life will be enlarged for himself and his fellow

man. The painter will look around him . . . and finding everything good, will strive to communicate that feeling through a portrayal

of the essentials of sunlight, or snow, or tree or tragic cloud, or human face, according to his power and individuality.” ~ J.E.H

MacDonald

J.E.H MacDonaldBarbados 

1932 Oil on cardboard

Franklin Carmichael Franklin was born in Orillia, Ontario, in 1890.

In 1911, he was a commercial artist with the Grip Ltd. advertising agency in Toronto. This is where he met Tom Thomson, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald and Frederick Varley. Franklin Carmichael, was a founding member of the Group of Seven. He was also the president of the group from 1932 to 1934. He taught at the Ontario College of Art from 1932 to 1945, but continued to paint oil and watercolour landscapes. Franklin Carmichael died in 1945, in Toronto.

"We have everything out of which to build ideas and traditions, to fail to make use of them would simply be

throwing away a priceless heritage of spirit and material."

~ Franklin Carmichael

Light and ShadowFranklin Carmichael

1937oil on hardboard

Lawren HarrisLawren Harris was born on October twenty-third

of 1885 in Brantford, Ontario. In 1916 Lawren enlisted in the army and 2 years later, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was discharged from the army. After being discharged he painted and traveled his whole life. He was a member of the group of seven also. Harris was married twice. He married Beatrice Phillips in 1910 and Bess Housser, who was also a painter, in 1934. Lawren died at the age of eighty-five on January 29th of the year, 1970.

“We are on the fringe of the great North and its living whiteness, its loneliness and replenishment, its resignations

and release, ‘tis call and answer, its cleansing rhythms. It seems that the top of the continent is a source of spiritual

flow that will ever shed clarity into the growing race of America.”

~Lawren Harris

1885-1970

North Shore, Lake Superior Lawren Harris

1926 Oil Paints on Canvas

All About the GroupThe Group of Seven was founded in 1920. It was created by seven

members who loved to paint. The original members were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and Frederick Varley. The members were drawn together by their common sense of frustration with the quality of Canadian art. They were very interested in landscape paintings, this is another thing that they all had in common. Lawren Harris was independent but very wealthy. The other members made their living as commercial artists. Several of them even worked together in the same shop. Tom Thompson was another commercial artist. He was included in this group of friends. But sadly, since he died in 1917 he never got the chance to became a member of the Group. He was very important to the other artists, he inspired them to find interest in painting the rugged northern Ontario landscape.

GoalsThe artists of The Group of Seven remain the most celebrated in

Canadian history. Their ambitions went far beyond winning a market for their own paintings, their other goals were …

To foster a distinctive Canadian expression in painting and design To show Canadians that art permeated all aspects of their lives To reform art education to counter academic teaching and instill a

freer, more creative spirit into younger artists To convince collectors to take an active interest in and materially

support the art being produced around them To see public collections of Canadian art established in schools,

libraries and galleries across the nation To attain for Canadian art and for Canada an international

audienceTo represent what Canada really is in art

77members

goalsFOR

Tom ThompsonTom was born on August fifth, 1877 in Claremont,

Ontario. Tom Thomson's landscape paintings in oil created an enduring image of the Ontario North. Unfortunately, his career ended in 1917, when he was drowned at the age of 39 in a canoeing accident. His impact on the future members of the Group of Seven and on Canadian art in general was out of all proportion to the few years that he was at work. Tom died on the eight of July 1917, at Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park, in Ontario.

“The best I can do does not do the place much justice in the way of beauty.”~ Tom Thompson

Autumn Foliage Tom Thompson

  1916 oil on wood

rest in peace;Thomas Thompson

Other Associated Members

L.L Fitzgerald

A.J Casson

Edwin Holgate

L.L FitzgeraldL.L Fitzgerald was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in

1890. The “ L.L” in his name stands for Lionel, Lemoine. He taught at the Winnipeg School of Art in 1924 – 1949, and was the principal from in 1929 - 1947. At an early age he moved to pointillism (“little strokes or spots of pigment,” he called it), mostly for landscapes, this is the place where he was mostly influenced from. In 1932 he was asked to join the Group of Seven. His paintings are of prairie scenes, simple subjects, such as his neighbour's backyard or a plant in a pot. Later on, L.L FitzGerald focused on abstract painting . He worked mainly in chalk, ink and watercolour. L.L Fitzgerald died in 1956.

Farm BuildingsL.L Fitzgerald

Watercolor

A.J CassonA.J Casson was born on the seventeenth of May

in 1898. He was born in Toronto, Ontario A.J Casson was a painter and a designer. He was younger than other members of the Group of Seven, and became a full-time artist when he retired from his very successful commercial career. His art was usually about Ontario's farmland and forests. In 1926, Casson had replaced Johnston in the Group of Seven and became a new member. Around the 1930s he concentrated on Ontario villages in his paintings. Later on, in his paintings, he reduced forms to two-dimensional patterns. A.J Casson died at the age of 94, on February nineteenth, 1992, in Toronto, Ontario

“It's like when you're out and it's been snowing. It's quieter than quiet.“ ~ A.J Casson

 Anglican Church at Magnetawan  A.J Casson

1933

Edwin HolgateEdwin Holgate was born in Allandale,

Ontario, on the nineteenth of August 1892. Edwin became many things. He was a draftsman, portraitist, landscape and figure painter, printmaker, book illustrator, muralist, war artist, and educator. Holgate and A.Y. Jackson were close friends. They were in painting expeditions, including a trip to Gitxsan territory in British Columbia. His work was included in the Group of Seven exhibitions. Edwin became a member in 1929. He established a distinctive method of portraying human figures in landscapes. He was 84 when he died in Montreal, Quebec, on the twenty-second of May 1977.

It didn’t matter what a thing looked like or was to be, the basic structure was what was most important . . . It’s more than composition.” ~ Edwin Holgate

Great Bug PondEdwin Holgate

1999Oil paint

Mountains and Lake Lauren Harris

 

Line – The element of line is used in this artwork quite a lot. There are straight horizontal lines in the water. The lines in the water define the movement and the reflection of the rock to the left of the painting. There are curved lines also. The curved lines are used for the mountains. The mountains have a curved top and a straight line on the bottom. This give the rock a more calming, smooth texture.

Shape- There is few shapes in this artwork. The only real geometric shape I can see is the more white mountain in the background. This is a triangle. The rest of the shapes are free-form. This would include, irregular and uneven shapes. The mountains are both, irregular and uneven.

Analysis

Space- The space is used very well in this painting. All of the mountains overlap. The larger mountain in the front overlaps the lighter mountains in the back. This gives the painting a sense of depth.

Colour- The painting has many of the same types of colors. There are different shades of green used in the water. There is a light blue - green color below the mountains on the right, and a darker, mossy green in the center of the lake. The mountains are dark, more black has been used, and a little bit of blue - green on the mountains further away, to show dimension. The neutral and grey colors are used in the sky. The colors are mixed, and blended to give the sky a more dull effect. The snowy mountains in the back are used with a light blue, and a cream color. One of the darker mountains to the right of the painting, is using more vivid blue colors, along with some black.

Value- There is very little value in this painting. There are no shadows, and a low contrast. The only value that I can describe is that this is a very dark, dull painting.

Texture- The texture of this painting is smooth. The mountains have clean curved lines and the water is calm. There isn’t much texture in this painting although the mountains in the back look kind of rough in the middle. The rest of the painting is used with smooth, clean colors and this makes little texture.

Form- The painting has a form. This form is 3D. You can see the third dimension from the mountains. You can tell that the darker mountain is close, while the lighter coloured mountains are behind the larger mountain. If you look closely, you can see a light blue line around the darkest mountain, this makes the mountain seem more third dimensional. The snowy mountains in the back is the part with the most form. I think this is because they used more detail and different colors to represent the shades and the great form on the mountains.

The name of the art work that I chose was Mountains and Lake by Lawren Harris. The title of the artwork says it all. The painting has mountains and a very unique coloured lake. This artwork was created in 1929. It was done by a Canadian painter, Lawren Harris. The materials used to create this work were oil paints. This painting has few shapes, but a lot of form. The space is used up well, and the colors suite the landscape theme.

Description

InterpretationI think that the artist, Lawren Harris, is trying to express the

mood of relaxation, or calm. I think this because of the colours he used, they are more of a calming, cool colour. There is a lot of blue used in this painting. Blue is said to be able to slow a humans pulse rate, lower body temperatures and reduce appetite. Blue also represents pease, calm, stability, trust, truth, confidence, sky, water, cold, depression. Lawren Harris could have been thinking or feeling any of these moods when he painted this artwork.

JudgmentI think that the artwork is very well done. Not only

because it is done by an artist, but it is done by a Canadian painter. I think that Lawren Harris expressed his feelings with this artwork, and that it really shows a part of Canada well. The part I like most about the painting is the color. I like the way he used the mixture of both blue, green and black in the water. Although I like the whole painting in total.

BibliographyGroup Of Seven Bookhttp://iit.bloomu.edu/vthc/design/psychology.htmhttp://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/bio_e.jsp?iartistid=915http://www.manorhillfineart.com/pagefiles/bios/g7_goals.htmlhttp://peter.risjak.net/about/http://www.artchive.com/artchive/groupseven.htmlhttp://projects.vanartgallery.bc.ca/publications/75years/pdf/Harris_Lawren_18.pdfhttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/canadian/Lawren-Harris.htmlhttp://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/bio_e.jsp?iartistid=2482

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